


Ghost in the Underground

by KINGBeerZ



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Abyss - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Cindered Shadows DLC, Friendship, M/M, Mostly chill though, Mystery, The Ashen Wolves are a Goon Squad and Yuri is Stuck Managing Them All, ashen wolves, maybe a little spice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:49:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25374178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KINGBeerZ/pseuds/KINGBeerZ
Summary: There's an urban legend in Abyss, about a mysterious individual called 'The Ghost'. This person appears in times of crisis, heals the injured and wounded and disappears. Not content to let a rumour be unexplained, the Ashen Wolves begin their investigation of this Ghost.
Relationships: Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 85





	Ghost in the Underground

**Author's Note:**

> Me: has a few works that I could add chapters to and update.  
> Also Me: Does nothing for months, then writes a 7k word one shot fic.
> 
> Sometimes life just be that way, you know? Thanks to Kaorumi for beta reading, so I don't end up like Glen.

“And then ‘whoosh!’ there was this bright light and a tingly warmth, and a crack. Stung for a second mind you, but then my leg wasn’t all twisted and broke no more!” The old man said, excitedly waving his hands about. “It was a miracle from the ghost!” 

Yuri laughed into his ale, not that anyone else in the tavern could see it. He waited on the wave of derision and catcalls, but none came. Instead there was a general murmuring of assent that rippled through the underground tavern.

“It’s the second one this week.” Maggie the washerwoman added. “Fred went and sliced half his leg open on a rusted sword in the scrap heap. We were lucky The Ghost was about then, too.”

 _Ghosts, really?_ Yuri had been in Abyss for close to two years and he’d never heard mention of any ghost healing peoples’ wounds. I must be getting sloppy, he thought sourly. He leaned back in his seat, and stretched out his shoulder’s languidly, keeping his ears pricked for any more snatches of information. He’d hardly thought to find anything juicy so early into the evening, but this was turning out to be rather interesting.

“Aye, an angel in our dank little hell hole, that one.” The old man laughed, before dropping into a coughing fit as he choked on his ale. 

Yuri stood quickly, walked behind the man and thumped the middle of his back firmly. With one last great hacking cough, he sputtered foul smelling liquor all over the worn table. 

“Careful with your drink friend, else the ghost may have to pay you another visit.” Yuri teased lightly.

“Right… right you are… young man.” The geezer replied between deep, gasping breaths, “Still, wouldn’t want to trouble such a kind soul.”

“Right.” _If their kindness is coming without a price that is. It may be worth looking into this Ghost._

Yuri tossed a handful of copper coins onto the bar and sauntered out with deliberate ease. He’d have to find the other Ashen Wolves. It was time for a meeting.  
\--#-- 

The classroom of the Ashen Wolves always had a stale, damp scent - much like most of Abyss. Being a closed off room certainly didn’t help; loose paper strewn about and a pile of spare desks heaped in the corner spoke to the lack of organisation that plagued many of the house’s members. Often if you looked, you could catch sight of a rat scurrying by just out of the corner of your eye. The light of the few candles that could be afforded was never enough to get a clear view. 

But that was fine. 

The Abyssians were used to darkness. 

Yuri had managed to assemble the other Ashen Wolves, although it’d taken close to half an hour to find Balthus passed out sleeping in the library of all places. He now sat at one of the front desks, slouching and half interested. Hapi sat upon another, legs dangling over the edge and kicking at a book that had been dropped upon the floor.

“Balthus, are you listening?” Constance snapped, slapping her hand against the blackboard. Upon it was the word ‘GHOST’, written large and bold in Constance’s overly elegant handwriting. “Yuri has informed us of a mystery and a possible threat to the security of Abyss!”

“Yeah, yeah I gotcha. I’m just thinking ‘sall this is my thinking posture, see?” Balthus yawned, clearly only half awake still. 

“If that is your thinking posture, then why do I see you adopt it so frequently? With your bouts of negligence I find it difficult to believe you truly spend so much time in contemplation.”

Hapi snickered behind her hand. There was a moment of tension before everyone realised that it wasn’t a sigh. Hapi was relatively new to the Ashen Wolves and they were still learning the ins and outs of her particular quirk. She rolled her eyes at the reaction.

“How about you, Hapi? You got anything on this Ghost?” Yuri ventured. He was leaned up against a stack of crates. Although he was half hidden in shadows, he’d never have to raise his voice to get the attention of the other Ashen Wolves. 

“Uuuuh, I heard some kids talking about a ghost a while back. They said he was cold like death, that his heart didn’t beat and you could hear his moaning cries in the tunnels some nights.” She gave the book at her feet a stronger kick, flipping it over. “I figured they were just telling stories though.”

Constance started hurriedly adding to her mind map, writing ‘Cold’, ‘No Heartbeat’ and ‘In the Tunnels’ in small bubbles stemming from the original word on the board.

“The people I heard in the tavern today were talking about the ghost healing injuries. Either we’re dealing with a real supernatural force, or someone practiced in white magic.” Yuri suggested, there was a scratching of chalk as Constance added to her mind map.

“If they’re just healing people, then why are you worried, Yuri-bird? Sounds like they’re doing a service. Maybe we should just leave them be.” Hapi suggested.

“Whilst it would be nice if they’re just trying to help out, we can’t rule out ulterior motives. They keep their identity concealed for a reason, and it doesn’t sit right with me not knowing what that reason is,” Yuri explained. Hapi made a face and looked down at her boots. The ugliness of people still had a real effect on her. Better she not lose that. 

“However, if they are truly a virtuous soul, I may well be able to petition their assistance in restoring-“

“-House Nuvelle to its former glory, yeah we know.” Balthus interrupted making Constance pout. “Who’re we talking about again?” Balthus mumbled. He rubbed his eyes and tried to straighten up.

“Seriously, B? You weren’t listening?”

“Hey, I’m not at my best without a good night’s sleep.” He shrugged.

“We’re talking about the Ghost, Balthus. Someone who mysteriously shows up when people are hurt and injured and cures their wounds before disappearing again,” Yuri reiterated, he’d half expected he’d have to and had an abbreviated speech ready for his friend. 

“Oh yeah, that sounds familiar,” Balthus said.

“Indeed it should, for it’s what we have been discussing,” Constance replied, tapping her chalk against the board to emphasize her point.

“No, I mean it sounds familiar because it happened to me,” he corrected. The room fell into silence for a moment before everyone tried to speak at once. 

“What!?”

“Really?”

“Well, that’s lucky.”

“Yeah, last night actually. I got in a fight with a few guys who were trying to throw their weight around. I came off pretty badly. They came off worse, of course.” Balthus quickly added before anyone could point out him claiming to not completely win a fight. “Anyways, I was getting ready to go home and sleep it off. Then when I walked past the library, I noticed some guy I’d never seen before. He took one look at me then pulled me inside. He asked me to sit and said he wanted to help. I decided to give him a shot since I had nowhere else to be, then there was this sort of fuzzy warmth, a lot different to any healing magic I felt before. Sent me drifting off. When I woke up-“

“When I woke you up.”

“Yes Yuri, when _you_ woke me up, all my bruises and fractures were gone,” He finished.

“You were gonna try and sleep off fractures B?” Hapi asked

“What do you want? It was late and I was tired.” Balthus huffed, shuffling in his seat. “Think my ass is bruised from sleeping in that library chair.” He muttered sourly.

“Balthus, let’s stay on track. You saw the Ghost.” Yuri pushed off from his post and walked to Balthus’ desk quickly. Constance soon followed suit, taking the effort to drag the chalk board behind herself. 

“I guess so, if it was the same guy,” Balthus shrugged.

“Right, can you give us any more details? What did he look like?” Yuri pressed, planting his hands on Balthus’ desk.

“Well, he was average height, maybe a little taller than Yuri. He was wearing dark robes and he had a cowl up, so it was kind of hard to get a good look at him. Oh yeah, his hair was green… or blue? Kinda in the middle?”

“Teal?” Hapi suggested.

“That’s it.” Balthus snapped his fingers. 

“Whilst it is not a comprehensive description it does give us more to go on.” Constance said, adding the noted to the board. 

“At least now we know what he looks like. So, it’s just a matter of drawing him out.” Yuri agreed, standing up straight again. 

The clack of well-made shoes upon stone heralded Aelfric’s arrival. The kindly man entered at an easy pace, a bundle of papers under one arm. He smiled gently as the Ashen Wolves turned to face him. His robes were finely tailored in black and red, stitched neatly and cleanly and proudly displaying the crest of Seiros, the emblem of the church. None, besides Aelfric, would be able to dress so finely in Abyss without finding their shirt stolen off their back before the end of the day. 

“Good afternoon, everyone. It seems I missed the notice of the house meeting,” he said with a chuckle, “What project are you working on this time?” 

Yuri noticed that when Aelfric’s eyes drifted to the chalk board, he stiffened slightly, like he’d just seen a ghost himself. 

“Ah, Aelfric, such fortuitous timing. We are undertaking an investigation of the Ghost, a mysterious personage responsible for some kindly acts lately.” Constance announced proudly. 

“The Ghost?” Aelfric replied softly. _There it is._ Yuri thought. There was a definite hint of recognition. There was something Aelfric knew, a reason to be nervous. 

“Yeah. Do you know anything about him Elfie?” Hapi asked casually. 

“The Ghost is… an urban legend here in Abyss. If he is real, then I trust the kindness of his intentions. I am sure that he’s only looking out for the people of Abyss, much like we all try to do,” Aelfric explained haltingly. Yuri couldn’t help but notice how bad a liar the man was.

“Well, perhaps there’s some more substance to this particular legend. Balthus claims he got a visit from the Ghost last night,” Yuri said. 

“Indeed?” Aelfric said with feigned curiosity, “I assume he was helpful to you, then?”

“Yeah, he seemed pretty useful,” Balthus agreed.

“Good, that’s good. Ah, well, it seems I have gotten off track. Constance, I came to pass on these letters to you, replies from the last lot you sent out.” Aelfric withdrew the bundle from beneath his arm and passed it quickly to Constance. 

“Ah, my long-awaited correspondence. Thank you, dear Aelfric,” She crowed, taking the letters from the priest. 

“Right, well, I am afraid I have some other matters I must attend to. Matthias down on main street needs to put in some supply requests. I will see you all later.” Aelfric hurriedly excused himself and all but ran out the door. 

“Does anyone else think that Elfie was acting a bit weird?” Hapi asked. 

“I thought I was the only one!” Balthus agreed.

“Well, it seems that whatever is going on with the Ghost, Aelfric is involved. Judging by his response we can’t rely on him to help.” Yuri said.

“So then, what’s the plan?” 

“Simple,” Constance said before Yuri had a chance to answer Hapi. “We simply have to wait for someone to injure themselves, and then keep a lookout for the Ghost.” She declared, eyes shining with pride. 

“It’s as good a plan as any,” Yuri agreed.  
\--#--

For once, the inherently hazardous nature of Abyss worked in favour of the Wolves. A few days after the meeting, there was a collapse of a building in the marketplace when a rotted support snapped. No one was killed, but there was a fair share of injuries going around. Whilst Balthus and Hapi worked to clean up debris and move some of the injured, Yuri and Constance kept an eye out for their special guest.

“Do you see anything Yuri?” Constance loudly whispered to Yuri.

“No more than I did twenty-three seconds ago when you last asked.”

“Well, excuse me for wanting to find our Ghost quickly. Perhaps once he shows up, I will be able to lend my considerable talents to the cleanup effort,” Constance crowed. Yuri rolled his eyes. It was amazing how she could manage to be self-aggrandizing, even when acting altruistically.

“Sure, once we spot him, you go ahead and help. I’ll handle the rest,” He said.

“What exactly is your plan for the Ghost, Yuri?” 

“I just want to ask him a few questions. If we’re lucky, we’ll get some open answers from him.” Yuri peered a little further out of the shadowed alcove the two were hidden in. Still no sign of anyone. From their spot on the upper level, they commanded a full view of the chaotic market street. Abyssians swarmed about frantically, cleaning up the mess and rubble with a strangely disorganized efficiency. One good thing about Abyss was the way everyone banded together in a crisis. No one had much, but they’d be damned if they let their home get destroyed.

“I have not seen any new arrivals for the past half hour. Perhaps the Ghost will not grace us with his presence after all,” Constance suggested. She leaned forward herself and pushed Yuri forward enough that he nearly fell down onto main street.

Amongst a flurry of curses, Yuri managed to regain his footing, crouching low and catching himself.

“Or perhaps-but wait! There, Yuri, look! I see something in the Western tunnel.” 

Yuri quickly looked where Constance told him. In a few seconds, he managed to pick out something moving about in the gloom. He smirked to himself as the figure came closer into the light and resolved itself into a dark robed figure. They flicked their cowl up right as they emerged into the edge of the light from Abyss, but Yuri caught sight of a flash of teal right before they did so.

 _Bingo._ He knew Constance’s sharp eyes had to be good for something besides picking out imperfections in everyone else’s dress code.

“Good one Constance, looks like we found our guy. Why don’t you head down there and assist with your ‘magical brilliance’ and I’ll see to our guest.” 

“I can hear the sarcasm, but I won’t let your petty jealousy bring me down.” She declared, strutting away.

Yuri slipped down through twisted alleyways and shadowed corners to get to where he saw the Ghost. It took him only a moment to reach ground level. Moving silent as a cat, no one even caught sight of him.

He caught sight of the Ghost walking across the bridge and towards the back rooms of Abyss. _The Infirmary, I’ll warrant._

Yuri gave him a short headstart to help muffle any sound his steps might make. However, with the clamour and shouting of the clean-up operation going on behind him he wasn’t terribly worried that he’d be heard. 

He followed at a sedate pace, and true to his expectations, saw the Ghost hurrying inside the infirmary right as he rounded a corner. 

Before entering the infirmary behind the Ghost, Yuri opened the door a crack. Peering through the sliver, he caught sight of the Ghost bending over a woman. She had a nasty gash that ran the length of her torso, bandages had been put over the wound, but they were stained a horribly dark red. Her recovery would be long and painful. 

Of course, the efforts of the Ghost changed all that. 

He held his hands over the wound and murmured softly to himself. A moment later, there was a bright green flash and the woman’s pained sobbing ceased. She looked towards the Ghost who had kept his head bowed low. Yuri read her lips as she mouthed ‘thank you’ to her saviour. 

He stayed watching for close to an hour as the Ghost moved from bed to bed in a seemingly tireless display of white magic, healing one wound after another. He even stopped for a kid with a skinned knee. Soon, all the injuries from the collapse had been treated. Yuri and the other Wolves all knew something of healing magic, but this was on an entirely other level. It was the skill of someone truly dedicated to their craft. 

As he saw the Ghost stand from treating their last patient and head towards the door, Yuri swiftly moved away, leaning on the wall next to the door.

The Ghost walked out the door, shutting it softly behind himself. He looked left and right and froze when he saw Yuri.

“Hello there, friend.” Yuri smirked at the Ghost’s pronounced reaction. Getting a look under his hood, he got a glimpse of pale blue eyes in a pretty face. Strangely despite his body’s strong reaction, his expression remained blank. 

“I was just going,” The Ghost said quickly, turning to leave.

Yuri quickly sidestepped, cutting off the Ghost’s retreat with a cheeky smirk “Why the rush?”.

The Ghost tried to sidestep him, but Yuri remained steadily in his way, matching his movements in an awkward shuffling dance. 

“Can you please move.” 

“Not yet.” Yuri slung an arm over the Ghost’s shoulders. Thankfully, he wasn’t a particularly tall man. “I wanted to offer some thanks, you were doing some good work in there, friend.” He started walking them down the hall, the Ghost falling in step after a short stumble.

“I just did what I thought was right. That’s all,” The Ghost said. It almost sounded genuine enough for Yuri to believe him.

“Well, I hear this isn’t the only time you’ve come along to our dank little paradise. Care to tell me where you spring from? In case we ever need to seek out your services,” He whispered to the Ghost, getting close to the other man. He felt a distinct flush of heat.

_Oh, now that’s interesting._

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” The Ghost said quickly, shrugging Yuri’s arm off his shoulders. 

“Ah, well I guess I shouldn’t keep you then. Unless there’s something else you’d like…” Yuri trailed a hand up the Ghost’s arm and rested it upon his chest. His face still didn’t change but his breath shuddered at Yuri’s touch, and his heartbeat….

_Even more interesting._

“N-No, that’s all,” The Ghost said, stumbling over his words as he quickly stepped away from Yuri and fled off into the darkness of Abyss. 

Yuri watched him go, not pursuing their mysterious guest any further. 

“What was that!?” Constance’s shout almost made Yuri jump, but years of practiced nonchalance allowed him to keep the outwards appearance of composure.

“Constance. Here I thought you were helping out clearing the rubble,” He said wryly.

“I’ll have you know that thanks to my efforts we got the street cleared in record time! I came to investigate how your efforts were proceeding to find you fondling the Ghost in an alleyway like a common philanderer!” She accused, jabbing her distinctly pointed nail into Yuri’s chest.

“Hey, hey,” He excused, stepping back and holding his hands up in surrender. “I know it looks odd, but it was part of a plan.” 

“Oh, a plan, was it? Here I thought we were investigating the Ghost for the safety of Abyss, but he’s simply your next planned conquest, is that it?”

“Constance, he didn’t have a heartbeat.”

“He didn’t, what?” She blinked at Yuri, cut off mid tirade.

“That’s what I thought,” Yuri shrugged, “seems some of those rumours held more truth than we thought.” 

“Well. I guess this does provide some explanation for your actions, still I will be keeping a closer eye on you in future.”

“That’s fair.”

“Since you scared the Ghost off like that however, we may need to readjust our strategy,” Constance said, looking down the tunnel where the Ghost had run. 

“Maybe a more subtle approach.” Of course they’d have to wait for him to show up again, still it shouldn’t take too long.  
\--#--

“Fine, one each. But that’s all, I won’t be held responsible for you eating too many sweets,” Hapi said, holding out her bag of gooey bon-bons for the ravenous group of children. A dozen pairs of hands swiftly took their cut of her snack before the kids took off running down the street.

“Bye, Hapi!”

“Seeya!”

“Bye now!”

The group called happily back to Hapi as they fled. She held up a hand in a weak wave to them in return, “Yeah, you kids take care.”

She looked down sadly at her bag of treats. There were only seven left. 

_Oh well_ she shrugged, taking off on her leisurely walk again. She popped another of the sweet treats in her mouth, chewing slowly to savour every moment. Good food like this didn’t come around often, only really when some bigwig up top left their lunch unguarded. 

The others could obsess over their little project as much as they wanted. She was happy enough to just have something tasty to eat and a safe place to relax.

She sat down beside the canal, close to that creepy altar. At least, the kids were happy, so she could enjoy her snack guilt free. 

It probably wouldn’t be too long until B gave up on the search as well, she thought. The only time any of them had met The Ghost was a few ago when Yuri got in contact with him. The next day Elfie had seemed really off, like he was mad but trying to hold it back. It was an expression that Hapi was familiar with, but she’s never expected it from the kindly priest. 

Seemed to her like The Ghost just wanted to be left alone, and she could respect that. It didn’t seem like he was hurting anyone after all. 

He didn’t steal anything or go around lighting stuff on fire or anything crazy. Speaking of stealing…

“B, I can hear you back there, if you want one of my chocolates you can just ask,” She called out. There was a shuffling of feet and someone sat down heavily beside her. 

It wasn’t B though. 

It was a young man about Yuri’s age, teal hair, dark robes. It only took her a second to recognize him as being The Ghost. 

“Uuuuuh, you’re not B,” She said slowly.

“No, I’m not,” The Ghost agreed, shaking his head.

“Bon-bon?” she offered the mostly empty packet to The Ghost, who carefully took one of the treats from the bag. He eyed it warily before biting into it. He remained completely stone faced as he ate the chocolate. It was weird because his complexion was deathly pale, like he’d spent years below ground.

“Not a fan?” Hapi asked.

“No, it’s actually very tasty,” he disagreed. He bit off another chunk of his chocolate, eating it slowly and deliberately. Most people in Abyss would wolf down a fancy dessert like this, but The Ghost seemed happy to take his sweet time. 

“So. You’re The Ghost, then?” Hapi asked casually. 

“That’s what some people call me, I guess.”

“You haven’t been coming around here much lately,” she observed. Trying to make small talk with an urban legend was really weird.

“I haven’t. I wanted to but…” He shook his head, any further words dying on his tongue.

“Yuri-bird didn’t scare you off, did he?” 

“No! No, it was…. I don’t know, but I wanted to see him again. I’ve come around to the edge of Abyss a few times since then, but I’ve not been able to enter, quite yet,” He said slowly.

Wow. Wow, this guy was shy, it wasn’t what Hapi had expected. It was good to know Yuri hadn’t upset him too much. She guessed, based on The Ghost’s reactions, that he found Yuri’s advances to be the exact opposite of upsetting.

“Well, you can always come in now. They’ve all been wanting to talk with you more for a while now,” She suggested.

“I…. no, no I’d better not,” The Ghost said. He got to his feet once more and began walking away, towards the Western tunnels. 

“Thanks for the chocolate though, I’ll try to get you one sometime to pay you back.” He said, disappearing off into the darkness.

“Bye, then.” Hapi called to his retreating form. She guessed that she’d have to tell the others about this at their next meeting. Until then, though, she had a few more bon-bons to enjoy.  
\--#--

“Wait, so you actually met with The Ghost?” Yuri asked, incredulous that Hapi could be so casual about all of this. After a moment of reflection, he realised how ridiculous that was. Hapi could be nonchalant about anything. If the church collapsed tomorrow, she’d probably just shrug and declare that it served them right. 

It was apparently a few days ago that she’d met him. After she left the last meeting early, she waited until they had another session in the classroom before telling anyone.

“Yeah, I gave him a chocolate, then he ran off towards the Western tunnels,” She said. She looked from Yuri to Constance as if it really wasn’t a big deal that she’d just stumbled onto a man they’d been trying to contact for weeks. 

“The Western tunnels, eh?” Yuri mumbled to himself.

He walked to the front of the Ashen Wolves classroom and rummaged through a pile of maps and charts until finally he withdrew a fairly new piece of parchment: a map he’d hand drawn himself. It always paid to know your environment. When he’d first come to Abyss, he’d spent a few months mapping out the tunnels beneath the monastery as best he could. It was a lot more difficult than he’d expected, with how extensive they’d turned out to be. There was also probably hundreds of secret passageways and nooks he’d missed. Searching out The Ghost was going to be a headache. Still, at least now, they had a heading.

He spread the map out on one of the tables, and the other Ashen Wolves gathered around, bumping shoulders and with how close they got. 

“So, this is a map of the tunnels surrounding Abyss, at least, as many of them as I could map out,” he told the Wolves, then he waved his hand over a large portion of the map. “These, are the Western tunnels.”

“Curious that he would live there. We rarely hear any activity from that direction at all,” Constance interjected.

“Yeah, can’t remember the last time we had to head out there to clean out some thugs,” Balthus agreed.

They were right, Yuri realised. It seemed like trouble never came from the west. None of the looters or thugs ever seemed to come through from there. But The Ghost did. He was willing to bet it was more than a coincidence. 

“Alright, looks like we’ve got a heading. Best arm yourselves before we head out though, I’ve got a feeling there could be trouble,” Yuri said.

“Ah, I see. So, you’re thinking that the reason we’ve never seen any small fry from that way is that there’s something bigger scaring them off.” Balthus smirked at Yuri.

“Bingo.”  
\--#--

“This place is kinda creepy. I mean, Abyss is always pretty dank and gloomy, but it never seemed this lifeless,” Hapi said hesitantly. Her voice sounded dull and weak in the silence of the tunnels, as if the very air was trying to stifle it. 

“I know what you mean. Word to the wise, if you feel like someone’s watching you, they probably are.” Yuri glanced surreptitiously over his shoulder. 

_I know you’re there, just let me catch a glimpse._

He wasn’t sure if it was The Ghost or someone else who was stalking the Ashen Wolves. If it _was_ The Ghost, he certainly had a lot less of a reason to be concerned, but you don’t get far in the underground counting on good luck like that. 

Wisps of wind magic danced around Yuri’s fingers, invisible but oh so present. Constance gave him haughty looks for it every few minutes as she strutted through the darkened tunnels like they owned the place. 

“Damn, I hope this big fish shows up soon. I’m getting antsy with all this waiting and walking,” Balthus whined, cracking his knuckles and rolling his shoulders. 

“We need not be so concerned. The chances are that this threat is likely a friend of The Ghost. If that’s, so then they’d hardly be a threat at all,” Constance declared. She was clearly outlined from where she led the group, a ball of fire bobbing in her hand to light the way. Taking point like that was a surefire way to get yourself targeted by snipers. Still, Yuri had seen Constance’s reflexes before, he was pretty sure she’d be fine. 

_She clearly isn’t concerned. I wonder if that girl has any fear at all in the dark._

“Besides, any threat will be quickly handled by my- Aelfric?” 

“By your Aelfric, oooh getting a bit personal with the bishop, are we?” Balthus jeered.

“No, no, Aelfric was there.” She pointed a carefully trimmed nail ahead to a branch in the tunnels. “I caught sight of him. he took the bend to the right.”

“Why would Elfy be down here, though? I couldn’t see him leaving Abyss for much.”

“It’s curious. We’ll need to investigate further,” Yuri decided.

Their group made their way to the split in the path. It was as innocuous as any other. So far, no route at all had shown them anything besides the dark and grimy brickwork and occasional canal or gate that could be seen through most of abyss. 

As they arrived and moved to follow after Aelfric, the clang of steel on steel shattered the silence of the tunnel. The sounds of vicious combat and the raging shouts of fighters roared from the left-hand fork. 

“Constance, Hapi, you two keep on Aelfric. Balthus, with me.” Yuri snapped into action, unsheathing his sword as he lay down his orders. 

“Worry not, Aelfric shall come to no harm with me around!” Constance crowed, taking off at a brisk trot, Hapi close on her heels.

Yuri and Balthus took off down the other path. Yuri didn’t even have to look to know his friend would be grinning like a madman at the chance to work out some tension with a fight. 

They burst into a large chamber, at least a hundred paces across. The space was dimly lit with some wan light filtering in through a hole in the ceiling. The occasional flash of thunder or lightning magic gave a clearer view of the scene.

There were about half a dozen assailants facing off against a single man. But just looking at the way he moved, Yuri was pretty sure the numbers advantage meant little. The defender was easy to pick out in his bright orange surcoat over darkened grey armour. He had a toughened face that looked carved from weathered stone with scaring all over. His hair was something that could only be described as ‘effortfully awful’. 

Each strike from his spear looked brutal, and lightning quick. He cleaved through blade and armour with little effort, moving with far more speed than anyone should with a weapon so large. His style seemed similar to that of the Knights of Seiros, but wilder somehow, like the rigid precision had been sanded away in favour of power and efficiency. 

In a matter of seconds, he felled all his opponents like sheaves of wheat, before turning slowly to face Yuri and Balthus, his spear at the ready. 

“Balthus, we need to be careful about how we approach-“ Yuri groaned as Balthus took off towards the man. 

Well, there goes any chance at ending this without a fight. 

Yuri reluctantly took off after Balthus to provide his support. Not that it was likely to do much good. He glumly reflected. 

Balthus swung once, then twice at the man, who leaned carefully away from the strikes before sweeping at Balthus’ legs with the butt of his spear. The brawler jumped over the weapon, but was punched in the gut whilst he was in the air, sending him crashing down. 

Yuri darted in to intercept the man’s follow up, delicately redirecting his spear’s thrust with his sword. 

“Balthus, you owe me for this one.” He said.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll buy you a drink later. We kinda have bigger problems right now!” 

The next few stabs came in a flurry and Yuri was forced to backpedal, dancing on the balls of his feet in order to stay away from the point of the lance. 

_Damn, this guy if fast._

He caught sight of a brief opening, and cut at the man’s wrist as he overextended in an attack. The opening swiftly disappeared and Yuri could have kicked himself when he realised it was a feint. 

The man drew back and swept his spear upwards, shattering Yuri’s sword. Yuri’s eyes widened and he dropped the useless hilt. 

_No point keeping my hands full now._

“That’s a neat trick there, not the sort of thing you see often,” Yuri panted, warily backing up to stay out of his opponent’s reach. He kept some wind magic ready, but he doubted it’d serve much better than his sword. 

“I once made a name for myself with that trick. You pick things up after a while,” the man replied in a rough voice. 

_So, he_ can _talk. Maybe this is salvageable._

“No kidding? I’m afraid I’ve not heard of you. Although, I have been living, quite literally, under a rock for the past few years,” Yuri jested weakly, his breath gradually evening out.

“That’s kind of the point. Now, would you mind telling me what some of Aelfric’s students are doing way out here?” 

“You know Aelfric?” _Of course, it wouldn’t just be a coincidence that the two were in the same place like this._

The man relaxed his stance and took a step towards Yuri. Yuri forced himself into a more casual pose, nerves taut and ready. After what had happened to his sword, he wasn’t quite ready to let down his guard around this guy yet. 

“We’re acquainted.” The man grunted in a tone meant to encourage no further argument.

“Aw, man. Aelfric never mentioned knowing some who could fight like you,” Balthus piped up. He staggered over to Yuri and the man, one arm held over his middle. 

“I value my privacy,” the man replied, gesturing towards the assailants he’d already cut down. 

“Yet, you’re acquainted with a Bishop of the church. Tell me, do you also happen to know The Ghost?” Yuri prodded.

The man froze. Clearly bluffing was not one of his strong suits. Still, with the ability to smash a sword into pieces, the guy probably didn’t need to lie too often.

“You know By- The Ghost?” He whispered.

“We’re acquainted,” Yuri replied, a devilish smirk on his lips. 

This was clearly a bad move, if the fist to the jaw he received was anything to go by. 

Yuri went down hard, and the coppery tang of blood flooded his mouth. He looked up at the man, who had a dark glower plastered on his stony face.

“You stay the hell away from my kid,” He growled. Yuri’s eyes widened as his vision wavered.

 _Yep, definitely bad move._ He winced as pain shot through his jaw, it was probably dislocated. 

“Jeralt, stop!” Yuri turned his head to see Aelfric rushing into the room accompanied by Constance, Hapi and The Ghost. 

At least things worked out well for someone. Yuri thought as he passed out.  
\--#--

Yuri awoke to a gentle warmth over his jaw. It put the world into a strange state that seemed out of focus. Yet, a feeling of security overtook him as he laid still. He didn’t open his eyes right away. He could hear someone else breathing, and he guessed they were the source of the warmth. Healing magic, most likely, his brain supplied. 

It was unlikely that they wanted him dead if they were healing him, but you could never be sure. He felt softness underneath his back and realised he was laid out on a bed. He couldn’t hear anyone else moving in the room, so he was alone with the healer. He carefully cracked an eye open to get a look. 

Teal hair, pale skin, handsome face. It was The Ghost kneeling beside him. 

“You know, your dad has one hell of a right hook,” Yuri joked. His words were slurred with his newly healed jaw, but they made enough sense that The Ghost stopped and stared at him. 

“He can be overprotective. Sorry about that.” Despite the flatness of the tone, Yuri didn’t think he was being mocked. 

“Well, I did get the good fortune to be healed by The Ghost.” Yuri shuffled himself into a seated position, leaning back against the bedhead, “So I guess this time I’ll let it go.” 

He quickly raked his eyes over the room. It was sparsely furnished, only holding the bed and a squat bookshelf crammed full of worn tomes. A lantern hung from a hook on the wall, chasing away some of the underground darkness, but none of the cold. 

“Byleth, please,” The Ghost replied.

“Byleth?” 

“My name. I’d prefer if you called me Byleth. It’s uncomfortable to be called a ghost all the time,” Byleth replied. His voice was even, but there was a slight hesitation as he spoke. 

“Byleth, huh? Alright.” Yuri clasped Byleth’s hand with his own, meeting the other man’s calm gaze. “My friends and I have been wanting to speak with you properly for a while now.”

“I know. I thought about going back into Abyss to speak with you… but it’s difficult,” Byleth excused, looking away.

“Well, we’re here now, you can easily enough say anything you want now. So ,speak your mind, friend.” 

Byleth mouthed the word ‘friend’ to himself and a bare hint of a smile crossed his face, it was gone almost as soon as it appeared.

“I just wanted to see other people. My Father and I came to live here… I’m not sure, at least ten years ago. Since then I’ve not really spoken to anyone other than him and my Uncle.” Byleth explained slowly.

“Your Uncle… you’re Aelfric’s Nephew.” It was an interesting thought, Yuri’d never heard Aelfric mention any siblings at all.

“We’re not related by blood. He was a good friend of my mother. He found us a couple of years after we arrived. Got us some extra food and resources when he could and taught me some white magic.” To demonstrate, Byleth placed his hand upon Yuri’s jaw. The warmth surged once again and any lingering pain disappeared. Byleth left his hand to linger for a moment before withdrawing quickly. 

“Certainly impressive, judging by what I’ve seen you have a talent. So, I’m guessing you became The Ghost so you had an excuse to come to Abyss,” Yuri suggested. Byleth gave a shallow nod. “So, what’d got you and your old man so scared that he’d want to hide in Abyss.”

_A Guy like that is more someone who’d be causing fear, not suffering from it._

“I’ve asked before, but he wouldn’t say.” 

“You never-“

Yuri was cut off as the door was all but knocked off its hinges. 

“Really, Yuri, you and Balthus attacked the Blade Breaker!” Constance bustled into the room, fanning herself rapidly as her heels clicked on the rough stone floor.

“The Blade Breaker? Wait, that guy was-“

“Correct.” She snapped her fan shut. “The Ghost’s father,” she tapped Byleth’s shoulder with her closed fan, “is the infamous Blade Breaker, the renowned mercenary who disappeared eleven years ago.” 

“In my defence, Balthus was the one who charged first.” Yuri shot a wry smile at Byleth, who had shrunk in on himself under the force of Constance’s tirade. 

“Well, you are fortunate indeed that Hapi and I managed to catch Aelfric and The Ghost in time, elsewise you might be nursing more than a few bruises,” She sniffed.

“Of course, in future, I’ll defer to you for any advanced planning,” Yuri snarked. 

“As well you should.” She crossed her arms and finally seemed to notice Byleth’s presence. “Ah, I thank you truly, Ghost, for your efforts in aiding my allies.” 

“His name’s Byleth, by the way, not Ghost,” Yuri interjected. 

“Indeed? Well, it seems you two have gotten wonderfully chummy then. Tell me, have you delivered my proposition to him yet?” She prodded, a gleeful, hungry look took over her face.

“Do I want to know what proposition she has in mind?” Byleth asked.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, just dedicating your life to her service.”

“The service and restoration of House Nuvelle!”

“Right, right. Still I’ve got a better offer for you.” Yuri leaned forward, locking Byleth’s attention on himself, “How would you like to join us? Come join the Ashen Wolves in Abyss. You’ll get to meet more people, put your healing talents to good use and you get a nice white uniform, that if I’m right, will look pretty good on you.”

Byleth’s breath caught and he looked from Yuri to Constance. He opened his mouth, drew breath to speak, then closed it again. He stood and walked towards the door, stopped and turned to face Yuri again.

“I want to but… I’m not sure I can. We’ve been hiding out here for years… My father wouldn’t want me to.” 

“What do you want?” 

Byleth started and turned as Hapi appeared in the doorway behind him. 

“What do you want, Chatterbox? You can’t live just for other people, and you shouldn’t have to hide in the darkness,” She said flatly. 

“Yeah, Abyss may not be perfect, but we’ll take care of you.” Balthus agreed. He slung an arm over Hapi’s shoulder and grinned at Byleth, “Besides, it’s way more fun than this little nook in the middle of nowhere.”

“Ew, B, B.O.” Hapi spat, shoving his arm off herself.

“Aw, come on. I’ve been walking and fighting all day, you can’t blame me for that.” 

“If you hadn’t have picked a fight you couldn’t win, then you wouldn’t be facing half of your problem!” Constance shot back.

“Hey, I just gotta convince Jeralt to give me a round two. I’ll take him down!” 

The Ashen Wolves very quickly descended into a squabbling mess and Yuri sighed as he got up from bed. He went to stand beside Byleth as the shouting grew louder. 

“It may not be perfect, hell, nothing in Abyss is. But it’s something. So, what do you say? Care to give it a shot with us?” He offered his hand to Byleth.

After a moment’s hesitation, Byleth took hold of it. His grip was tight and clammy. 

“I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so some notes to explain the past of this AU. Jeralt, after starting the fire and fleeing the monastery, took up work as a mercenary. He was a bit too successful however, and the Knights of Seiros soon caught wind of him. In an effort to stay hidden he took Byleth and the two of them began living underground. Aelfric found them a few years later and agreed to keep their location secret for the sake of Sitri's son. He sort of became like a second dad to Byleth as he grew up.


End file.
